Billionaire’s Montclair megamansion proposal withdrawn ‘without prejudice’

A bid to build a 60,000-square-foot megamansion in Montclair was abruptly withdrawn from review on April 19, according to NorthJersey.com. Turkish billionaire Melih Abdulhayoglu, founder of internet security company Comodo, reportedly planned to erect the monstrous home on a pair of properties adjacent to the Eagle Rock reservation in Essex County. If approved, the edifice would have included a bowling alley, billiard room, movie theater, two elevators, indoor and outdoor pools, a gym, spa and an 11-car garage. NorthJersey.com previously noted that the site of Abdulhayoglu’s proposed palace required the purchase of two separate homes on six acres in Montclair that were both razed in February. The outlet reported that local residents had voiced dissension over the destruction when the pair of properties — a Civil War-era home at 14 Undercliff Road that sold for $3.88 million in January 2018 and a 1907 seven-bedroom mansion at 172 Lloyd Road that traded for $3.4 million last July — were leveled before scheduled meetings with historic preservation and zoning officials. By pulling his application “without prejudice,” NorthJersey.com noted that Abdulhayoglu can resubmit it at any time. [NorthJersey.com]